New documentary needs your help to tell the story of the Cannonball Run

Cars from the 1979 event take a parade lap on the Long Beach Grand Prix course. Photo courtesy Gero Hoschek.

It was an event as audacious as its founder, Brock Yates, the Car and Driver editor known for speaking his mind regardless of the consequences. Five times in the 1970s, the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash traversed the United States from New York City (or Darien, Connecticut) to Redondo Beach, California, with the sole rule being “get from start to finish in as little time as possible.” The slap-in-the-face to highway decorum spurred a successful 1981 comedy based on the 1979 running (and partially rooted in truth), but now a German writer and 1979 Cannonball Run participant, Gero Hoschek, is working on a documentary about the actual event.

Named for Erwin George “Cannon Ball” Baker, the intrepid motorcyclist and automobile racer whose 1933 cross-country record of 53 hours and 30 minutes would stand for nearly four decades, the race was a protest of both the federally imposed 55 MPH national speed limit and of the idea that speed kills. Not that anyone with a fast car could enter, however: To minimize the risk of accident, drivers were vetted by event staff prior to acceptance into the Cannonball. In five events (actually four, plus the May 1971 proof of concept), the sole serious incident, a rollover caused by a driver falling asleep at the wheel, resulted in a totaled Cadillac limousine and a broken arm for team member Donna Mae Mims.

The Hemmings Motor News 1936 Ford driven by Terry Ehrich, David Brownell, and Justus Taylor. Photo by David Traver Adolphus.

The 1979 Cannonball Run even featured an entry from Hemmings Motor News, with publisher Terry Ehrich, editor David Brownell and Jack-of-all-trades Justus Taylor competing in a 1936 Ford panel truck (carrying the Hemmings logo, of course). The winning time that year came from Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough, whose 1979 Jaguar XJS completed the journey in 32 hours and 51 minutes. The Hemmings team crossed the finish line 29 hours later, finishing 40th out of 42 entries, but met their dual goals of completing the event and not finishing in last place. Gero Hoschek, driving a 1969 Jensen Interceptor with Andreas Zoeltner and Ursula Nerger, finished in 31st place with a time of 43 hours and 47 minutes.

Pam Yates’s Cannonball logo, used with permission.

For Gero, then, the documentary is personal, and he’s seeking the public’s help in getting as much information about the event as possible, including photographs, films and tape recordings from the event. He’s attempting to track down as many original 1979 Cannonball vehicles as possible, too, though many (including the dark red right-hand-drive 1969 Jensen Interceptor Mk 1 used by Gero and his team) have gone missing over the years.

Do you know the whereabouts of any of these cars, or others used in the 1979 event? Do you have access to images or recordings from that particular running, or do you know any behind-the-scenes stories from participants? If so, Gero would love to hear from you, and you can contact him via his website, MotoReporters.com, or the group’s Facebook page.

UPDATE (5.January 2016): We received a note from Gero Hoschek, clarifying that the focus of the documentary will be on all of the original Cannonball Baker runs. In his own words:

Actually were looking for info, footage and cars of all years and will start with a little early Cannon Ball Baker and then proceed to feature Cannonball 1971-1979 and even the later events such as US Express of the 1980s.